The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition
"The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on Monday, March 30, 2009. Summary Penny is not the only girl in town when another, slightly more successful actress named Alicia moves into the apartment on the fifth floor of the building and the guys can't do enough for her. Extended Plot Penny comes down the hallway in Apartment 4A, telling them that she murder|killed the spider in the bathroom. As they sit down to dinner she mentions that the neighbors upstairs in Apartment 5A are moving out. This statement bothers Leonard because he hadn’t told Sheldon who is freaked out by this revelation. Though he had never met them, they were the perfect neighbors because they never made any noise. No awkward hellos in the halls, no clickety-clack of high-heel shoes on hardwood floors. They might have well been a family of cats just jumping around from drape to drape, Howard suggest that he could move in upstairs to get way from his mother to which Penny uses Sheldon’s earlier exclamation, "The horror! The horror!" The guys are willing to help Howard to move. Sheldon has negotiated it up to a Sony PlayStation 3. He rejected the mountain bike. Howard's mother decides to threaten Howard with cutting the cord completely if he moves out. Also, Penny no longer needs to put her head in the oven. Back at the apartment lobby, they find moving box|boxes and meet their tall, blonde, hot new neighbor Alicia. Leonard is immediately smitten, but Sheldon is not yet impressed. He has a few questions for Alicia. He asks if she is light-footed, a salsa, Irish_folk_dance|Irish folk, or break dancer, fertile (crying infant possibility) and pro-rug. Her answers make him to welcome her to the building. Alicia has Leonard carrying a heavy box up to the 5th floor. They run into Penny dressed in a "Hillary_Clinton|Hillary 2008" t-shirt. Alicia claims to be dressed like a slob, but isn't. They leave as Penny’s jealousy shows and she imitates Alicia. Sheldon amazingly picks up and does his Admiral Ackbar impression from Return of the Jedi. As Sheldon is "air computing," Penny comes in looking for Leonard so he can hook up her printer as promised. Leonard is still up at Alicia's, hooking up her stereo with Howard and Raj. Penny seems to have issues with that as well as her jealousy shows again. Up at Alicia’s Howard is trying to hit on her as Leonard works on her stereo. Penny walks in, under the guise of presenting a welcoming bottle of wine to Alicia, with high heels and a blue dress that leaves as little to the imagination and complaining that she is dressed like a slob. Leonard tells her that Alicia is also an actress with several national commercials and a recurring role on soap opera. Alicia has their full attention with a wink and a few "sweeties" and "honeys" thrown in. Penny asks Leonard to set up her printer and she gets “Don't nag me!" She tries a physicist’s joke that bombs before a liquored-up Raj hits on Alicia. An angry and dejected Penny returns to Sheldon, who is unaffected by Alicia. He is complaining about the noise from upstairs and talking about a special he saw on bees. Sometimes a new queen bee enters a hive and they have to have a battle to the death. Penny asks if he thinks she is threatened by Alicia and that it’s time for her to go. Scared at that thought, Sheldon insists was just talking about bees, not trying to give her advice. Penny then states that she was doing the same thing, while she finally understands the offensive physics joke she told the guys. Penny now tries to win back favor with the men|guys by buying them Chinese food. She even follows Sheldon detailed instructions (diced instead of shredded, brown rice, mustard and low-sodium soy sauce from the market.) She is offering to play Halo or watch "Battlestar Galactica", when Alicia comes to the door. She needs a ride to an audition for CSI where she would play a hooker who gets killed. Leonard runs out to give her a ride; Howard will practice lines with her. Afterwards Alicia will take them out for Chinese food...even though there's Chinese food right in front of them. Alicia even got Howard to drive to Orange County, California|Orange County to get her television like Penny got Leonard and Sheldon (Pilot) to do though Penny considers that apples and oranges. Penny complains about the way Alicia treats the guys, when Sheldon points out that she got the incorrect mustard. Penny is very upset with Alicia and decides to confront her about it the next day in the laundry room. Alicia was disappointed that physicists don't make a lot of money. They are also going to paint her bedroom and install a satellite dish. Yeah! Penny explains that her guys are special and don't know how to use their Shields (Star Trek)|shields like on Star Trek. Penny is shocked that she is using a Star Trek metaphor. She doesn't want her to take advantage of them. Alicia gets ticked off and says that she does the same thing. After she calls her a bitch they get into a fight. All the guys come into the lobby and find the girls fighting. Howard is excited and holds back Leonard knowing that he’ll break it up. Later, Penny is having dinner and is a mess with a black eye, busted lip, and chipped tooth. Penny lost the fight, but she won back the guys. Howard tells her that she looks great to and she accepts the compliment. Howard realizes that her spirit is broken. The stereo comes on from upstairs. Per Howard, she is seeing one of the producers on CSI. Noise comes from the bedroom as Penny comments, “Dead whore on TV, live one in real life." Sheldon then complains that the couple is merely jumping up and down on the bed while Penny realizes they are having some heavy-duty sex. Credits * Guest starring: ** Valerie Azlynn as Alicia ** Carol Ann Susi as Mrs. Wolowitz (Voice Only) * Teleplay: Steven Molaro * Story: Steven Molaro Critics *"Excellent stuff. It’s sad in a way that it has taken two seasons to finally produce a proper character episode for Penny. But when it is this good, I won’t complain." - The TV Critic's Review *IMDb user reviews Notes *'Title Reference:' The episode name refers to the juxtaposition, or placement, of Alicia in the apartment building, and her role as a dead prostitute on CSI. *Chuck Lorre's vanity card http://www.chucklorre.com/index-bbt.php?p=247 *This episode was watched by 9.77 million people with a rating of 3.8 (adults 18-49). * Episode transcript https://bigbangtrans.wordpress.com/series-2-episode-19-the-dead-hooker-juxtaposition/ Costume Notes Sheldon wears the Riddler: Bat Question shirt, The Flash athletic jersey, the Nanotubes shirt from Thinker Collection, Spazz Stone shirt (discontinued by Urban Outfitters), the Antique Radios shirt, and a distressed Superman logo shirt. Leonard wears the APS shirt, a white shards shirt (he also has this in red), a blue shirt featuring an owl, an olive shirt with blue lines, a blue shirt featuring a cityscape, and a red shirt from an unknown chess tournament. In the laundry room, Penny is folding her Celestial Printed Hoodie by Truly Madly Deeply (discontinued by Urban Outfitters.) Set/Props Notes New on the set: The Final Blow by Eric Joyner; poster on the closet door in the living room. Some people call this the "Rock Em Sock Em" poster. Trivia *The quantum physics joke Penny tells the guys was told to the producers by Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Dr. George Smoot (CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #247) and was originally written by comedian Kevin L. Schwartz in 2002(The Best Science Joke on the Internet). *This episode is the highest rated one by The TV Critic. *Valerie Azlynn has, in fact, been in a "CSI: NY" episode, but not as a prostitute. *Sheldon has a lifting belt now, as he stated otherwise in "The Big Bran Hypothesis". *When Sheldon and Leonard meet Alicia for the first time, the dialogue among the three are quite analogous to that when Sheldon and Leonard first met Penny in the pilot: repetitive "hello's" and Leonard's redundant explanation. **Leonard even becomes infatuated with Alicia as he did with Penny. *Penny is seen wearing a Penny Blossom that she made in the previous episode. *The line "The horror" was referencing the film Apocalypse Now. Penny says this line in a similar fashion in "The Toast Derivation" (S4E17). *The line "They're here!" was referencing the film Poltergeist_(film)|Poltergeist. *The pink spotted dog seen in the milk crate during Alicia's discussion with Sheldon while she is moving in can be seen previously in Season 2 on Penny's dining room table. *In the scene where the gang leaves Sheldon and Penny with the Chinese food that Penny bought, her rant is poorly edited in that the whole time she goes from fork to chop sticks and then back and forth the whole time she rants. *One of the few strictly Penny stories. *This episode marks Alicia's only appearance in the series. Goof * Sheldon is horrified when his dumplings are steamed, exclaiming that "...you hear stories of this sort of thing, but you never think it'll happen to you". In "The Dumpling Paradox" (S1E7) at Szechuan Palace, Sheldon explains that the gang's standard order includes the steamed dumpling appetizer, consisting of four dumplings to be divided among the four of them. Quotes : Howard:'' ENOUGH WITH THE GUILT, MA, WE'LL STILL SEE EACH OTHER, AND I'LL COME OVER EVERY NIGHT AND HAVE YOU FOR DINNER! : '''Mrs. Wolowitz': THE HELL YOU WILL! WHAT AM I RUNNING HERE, A FANCY RESTURANT?! DOES THIS LOOK LIKE OLIVE GAHDEN?! : Howard: OKAY, I GET IT, YOU'RE ANGRY... YOU DON'T WANNA SEE YOUR LITTLE BIRD LEAVE THE NEST! : Mrs. Wolowitz: LITTLE BIRD?! YOU'RE ALMOST 30! FLY, FOR GOD'S SAKE! :Howard: FINE! I'LL STAY! YOU HAPPY, CRAZY OL' LADY? I SURE AS HELL HOPE SO BECAUSE YOU'RE RUININ' MY LIFE! ---- : Sheldon (to Penny): Ah, mimicry. I've been working on my impression of Admiral Ackbar. "It's a trap!"... You have to imagine me with a giant squid head. ---- :(Scene at the apartment where Sheldon is listening to music on the TV just as there is a doorhandle sound in the background which pans to the scene of which Penny walks into the apartment looking very cross just as she slams the door and collapses on the sofa. Sheldon now looks puzzled for a few seconds) :Sheldon: Who is it? Oh hello, Penny, it’s open, come in. (Penny glares angrily at Sheldon) Sarcasm. :Penny: Well, they’re all still up there. :Sheldon: You think I can’t hear them? Listen to that. Stomp, stomp, stomp. That’s Wolowitz in his stacked heels that fool no one. :Penny: I don’t even know why I care. I don’t care. All right, I cared enough to memorize that stupid joke, but that’s all I care. :Sheldon: You know, Penny, there’s something that occurs in beehives you might find interesting. Occasionally, a new queen will arrive while the old queen is still in power. When this happens, the old queen must either locate to a new hive or engage in a battle to the death until only one queen remains. :Penny: What are you saying, that I’m threatened by Alicia? That I’m like the old queen of the hive and it’s just time for me to go? :Sheldon: I’m just talking about bees. They’re on the Discovery Channel. What are you talking about? :Penny: Bees. Aaah! I just got that physicist joke. ---- :Alicia: Hi. Guess what? I got the part on CSI. :Penny: Oh boy. :Alicia: Something wrong? :Penny: Uh, no. No, no, no, you know, congratulations, I think you’ll make a great hooker. :Alicia: Thank you. Hey, I got to ask you something, how much do physicists make? :Penny: Um, I don’t know, I don’t think a lot. :Alicia: Yeah, that’s what I figured. Well, got to run, the guys promised to set up my satellite dish and paint my bedroom. Yay! :Penny: Um, hey, hey, can I talk to you about that for a second? :Alicia: About what? :Penny: Well, you know, it’s just that Leonard and Howard and Raj, they aren’t like other guys. They’re special. :Alicia: Okay, they're special and..? :Penny: Well let's see how can I explain this. Um. They don't know how to use their shields. :Alicia: Shields? :Penny: Yeah, You know like in Star Trek and you're in battle, and you raise the shields. (Realizing what she said) Where the hell did that come from? Anyways, um, you know how guys like this are, so, please don’t take advantage of them. :Alicia: Who says I’m taking advantage of them? :Penny: Come on, they’re doing everything for you, because you’re leading them on. :Alicia: So I let them do stuff for me. They’re happy. I get stuff. Who cares? And how’s it any different from what you do? :Penny: Excuse me? :Alicia: I’ve seen you around them. Are you pretending like you don’t do the exact same thing? :Penny: Okay, lady, you are way out of line. :Alicia: Oh, I’m out of line? :Penny: Yeah, you’re out of line. :Alicia: Well, what are you going to do about it, bitch? ---- :Raj: I like Green Lantern, I’m just saying it’s pretty lame that he can be defeated by the color yellow. :Sheldon: Only the modern Green Lantern is vulnerable to yellow. :Leonard: Golden age Green Lantern was vulnerable to wood. :Raj: Great, so I can take them both out with a number-two pencil? :(Alicia and Penny emerge from the laundry room, fighting) :Howard: Oh my god! Girl fight! (Grabs Leonard's arms) :Leonard: What are you doing?! :Howard: I know you. You're stupid enough to break it up! ---- :Howard: May I say you look very comely tonight? :Penny: Thank you. :Howard: You’re right, this filly’s been broken. :Sheldon (as music comes down through ceiling): You set it on DTS, didn’t you? :Leonard: I had to, she called me cutie. :Howard: According to Alicia’s Facebook page, she’s hooking up with one of the producers on CSI. :Penny: Well, dead whore on TV, live one in real life. :Sheldon: Oh, great now she’s jumping up and down on the bed. :(Penny turns to Leonard, mouthing the word "Wow".) Gallery Hooker14.jpg|Alicia and Penny. Hooker12.jpg|Alicia and Penny. Hooker11.jpg|Alicia vs. Penny - publicity photo. Hooker10.jpg|Alicia needs a ride to her audition. Hooker9.jpg|Penny with her black eye. Hooker8.jpg|Alicia and Penny. Hooker7.jpg|Penny commiserating with Sheldon. Hooker6.jpg|Hello...... Hooker5.jpg|Penny bought Chinese food for her guys. Hooker4.jpg|Penny and Sheldon. Hooker3.jpg|Alicia and Penny. Hook2.jpg|Penny dressed up with one of her Penny Blossoms. Deadhookerjux.jpg|Raj and Alicia in her apartment. PennyJux.jpg|Penny dressed down eating Chinese food. vanity 247.jpg|Chuck Lorre Productions, #247. A58.jpg|Leonard is in love. Hilliary08.jpeg|Penny hasn't done her laundry. Category:Episodes Category:Season 2 Category:Penny episodes Category:Mrs. Wolowitz Is Heard Category:Mrs. Wolowitz Category:Raj Category:Penny Category:Sheldon Category:Leonard Category:Howard Category:Transcripts Category:The Big Bang Theory Category:2009 episodes Category:Wolowitz House Category:Drunk Raj Can Talk to Women Category:Spring episodes Category:Food-preparation specification Category:Hooker